The 2019 tennis season is underway and the girls’ team is off to a great start. Head coach Alan Simpson has been working to improve on skill to prepare the girls for the upcoming matches.  Over the years the tennis team at GHS has changed.

“What’s changed is we get a lot of fewer girls that have been playing their whole life,” Simpson said.

Many girls playing on the tennis team now start learning their freshman year and seek to improve their game throughout their high school years.

“I want to be more consistent with my serves, with my hits and the way I play because it is scattered sometimes,” sophomore Julia Moss said.

Julia Moss had never played tennis before coming to Gresham High School, but sophomore year she wanted to try something new. She is now a senior and is currently playing for the varsity team.

“If you are looking for a sport where no one judges you and you don’t want tryouts, join tennis,” Moss said.

Moss believes tennis is a good sport to join where everyone is nice. Team members are funny and kind, “10/10 recommend,” Moss said.

Because many tennis players are also very involved with other activities like band, leadership and choir it can be hard for Simpson to know who will show up to practice on a daily basis.

“I have such involved kids that I always have to shuffle lines up,” Simpson said.

Simpson starts every practice with serves and match situations where he talks about what skills they are trying to improve.  Simpson also makes JV and varsity practice together sometimes to help them compete at different levels.

Moss, and other tennis players, constantly work to improve their tennis game and practice and beyond. In her third year of playing tennis, she believes she can work better on her serves, her hits, and her game on the court. She also wants to focus more on helping the JV players improve their skills.

“I just want to be a really good, encouraging leader to the JV players,” Moss said.

Moss wants to encourage others to not be afraid to just go out and play. Some players on the team don’t want to play or are scared they are going to lose their games, but she wants them to just try their best because even if they lose that’s how they will learn and improve.

According to coach Simpson notable performances this season include Joanna Diaz who has been undefeated at #3 and #4 singles so far. Tiffany Jones has had big wins in her doubles and singles matches. Julia Moss and Kate Alngog will compete as the top doubles team in the league this season and Abby Hernandez is #1 singles player. Be sure to be there Thursday, April 18 as Gresham takes on Centennial at 3:30 pm on our home court.